Kendrick Meek guest blog for QT on 538.com
Micah Sifry
We may want to do a little push out around thanking Meek, by tweeting replies to @kendrickmeek or going on his Facebook page facebook.com/kendrickmeek.
Micah
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/02/in-support-of-question-time-congressman.html
Why I Support Question Time for our Democracy
by Kendrick Meek
On the occasion of today’s White House Health Care Summit, I would like to offer my full support for Question Time
– a bipartisan effort to hold regular, unmediated, and open exchanges
between the President and members of Congress, the direct
representatives of the people.
Over 18,000 Americans,
representing all political stripes, have joined the online movement for
Question Time and many young supporters have approached me about
getting behind the idea. After seeing the success of the President’s
appearance last month at the House Republican retreat in Baltimore and
his subsequent Q&A with Senate Democrats, I’ve become convinced
that Question Time will both strengthen our governance and help
revitalize our political process.
Democracy doesn’t take place
in a vacuum. It requires commitment, energy, and openness. And, most
importantly, it is not a solo act. Too often, we think of politics in a
top-down, hierarchical sense instead of treating it as a two-way
street. Holding regular, publicly-televised and webcasted conversations
between the President and the people's representatives has the
potential to combat hyper-partisanship and political stagnation.
The
President’s open dialogue with House Republicans afforded Americans a
valuable opportunity to see their elected policymakers in action,
debating the great issues of the day in a meaningful and civil manner.
For an entire day, the 24-hour cable news cycle stood at a virtual
standstill, transfixed by what they saw. Gone were the sound bites and
political sniping. For once, ideology took a back seat to substance.
Given its success, why not make Question Time a permanent fixture of our democracy?
Today,
our nation stands at a crossroads. We can continue down a dangerous
path toward increased partisanship and polarization or we can choose to
place trust in our system of governance. As an American, I have faith
in our democracy. If we institute a regular, open forum for our elected
leaders to publicly air and debate their ideas, we all win.
Ideally,
Question Time would be both bipartisan and bicameral. However, I’m not
interested in advancing a specific proposal so much as building
momentum behind the idea. I’m far from the first member of Congress to
call for this type of forum. As some may recall, Senator McCain
endorsed Question Time as a presidential candidate. At the time, some
pundits mocked the suggestion, but it was actually quite an innovative
and bold proposal. Simply put, it was a good idea.
Even the
White House has dismissed the idea of instituting Question Time,
claiming it is "going to be hard to recreate the spontaneity that
happened." However, is “spontaneity” really the end goal? Or is it
something much greater, a deepening of our democracy and renewal of our
basic governing process?
Politicians today are heavily scripted
and risk-adverse. Too many are unwilling to reach across the aisle and
forge a bipartisan consensus for the good of the country. Question Time
would have a healthy effect on me as an elected leader by providing a
regular opportunity to hear views that differ from my own.
I
understand that Question Time is no panacea to our country’s
challenges. There is no magic wand that will suddenly break our
political impasse. I do think, however, that it’s worth a shot. I would
be curious to know what you think @KendrickMeek on Twitter or via Facebook at facebook.com/kendrickmeek.
--
http://www.personaldemocracy.com
http://www.techpresident.com
http://micah.sifry.com
http://www.twitter.com/mlsif